


It's okay, little one

by jensencanfricklemyfrackle



Series: Long oneshots (mix) [8]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Angst, Anxious Reader, F/M, Loki comforts, Loki-snake, Shapeshifter, Small fluff, abadonment issues, infinity spoilers, infinty war inspired, loki doesn't get killed by thanos, loki gets feelings, loki has grown in personality, loki-dog, loki-rabbit, loki-stag, loki-wolf, loses parents, reader is parentless, steve is going around and finding people, thor thinks Loki was dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 22:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14963073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensencanfricklemyfrackle/pseuds/jensencanfricklemyfrackle
Summary: this takes place after Thanos *snap* his fingers and half the universe population is gone, including Y/n's parents. She is left in the woods, alone, until a snake happens upon her. A snake that can shapeshift. She is led to believe that Snake is part of her imagination so it does not faze her when Snake shifts into Rabbit, then Dog, then Wolf, and finally Stag who attempts to protect her when Steve Rogers appears, followed closely by Thor, who recognises Stag's vibrant green eyes. That's when Stag shifts into his final form. Loki.or.....Loki isn't dead!!





	It's okay, little one

It was odd, being alone.

After Thanos got all five infinity stones and extinguished half the population of the whole universe, everyone was panicking and my parents were taken away from me right in front of my eyes. I was left all by myself in the middle of the woods. Of course, I didn’t know it was Thanos’s fault until much later, when the Captain told me, but my story really begins in the middle of the woods, right after my parents had faded into dust right in front of me. We had been camping a few weeks after my 18th birthday, getting away from the city and leaving technology behind apart from a satellite phone in case we needed help - except that now, if I tried it, no one would respond - .

I was sitting in the middle of the clearing, my back facing the tents and the two piles of ash that used to be my parents. I was feeling oddly calm about this, but I had a feeling that I was going to have a break down soon. It was like I was in denial and I was just waiting for my parents to walk out of the tree line in front of me.

I didn’t know how long I was sitting there before I heard the rustling of leaves that came from the surrounding trees. I look up hopefully, but nothing was there, until I narrowed my eyes at the grass and saw something slithering towards me. I cautiously stand up, and with that additional height at my advantage, I can finally see what was coming towards me.

It was a snake. A huge snake which was almost three times my height and as thick as my thigh. It had green scales with intermittent greenish – silver scales scattered over its body and eyes that were almost glowing green. I could see its muscles undulating under its scales as it slithered towards me, but I wasn’t afraid, but curious, because the longer I looked at it, the more I noticed. Like how its green scales and eyes were dull and its tongue kept constantly flicking out, tasting the air. Even its movements were sluggish, jerky and slow. It stopped moving two feet away from me, and slowly lifted its head, waving back and forth slightly in the air as its eyes locked on mine. I find myself not blinking, almost hypnotized by its eyes which seem to flicker into a bright green before I shake my head and take a step back and blink quickly at the snake. The snake seemed to have now lost all its strength and was now lying limply against the ground.

“Um, you are a giant snake, you know that right?”

I really didn’t expect it to answer, but I startled when the snake’s pupils flicked to me and gave me what I can only explain as an unimpressed look. It even somehow managed to roll its eyes and then proceeded to lick a drop of dew from a nearby blade of grass. That’s when it clicked.

“Oh! Are you thirsty?”

The snake glanced up again, watching me, but after a moment it nodded slowly. I nod as well and quickly back away then turn on my heel and sprint to my tent where a water bottle with a cap was sitting on the grass in front of it. I grab it and jog back to the snake, crouching next to it as I carefully pour some water into the cap and set it gently on the grass near the snake’s head.

“There you go” I say proudly as I move a few feet away and sit on the grass, watching it. The snake gives me a side eye as it gingerly lifted its head and carefully dips its tongue into the water. Once it realizes that it was clean and drinkable, it practically shoves its head into the water and I see that the sides of its mouth was inflating and deflating like it was gulping.

“Damn, you must have been thirsty huh?” I murmur to myself as it drains the whole cap and looks at me, its head tilting towards the cap to which I nod. “Yeah, I can give you more”

I pour more water into the cap and the snake drinks more water but stops halfway, obviously having had its fill of water. I still didn’t find it odd that I was somehow communicating with a snake, but the task of talking to it and helping it was keeping me distracted from my parents so I didn’t question it.

“Um, I don’t have any food for you” I tilt my head as I continue to watch the snake. “Hell, I don’t even know what snakes like you eat”

The snake just hisses at me, not angrily but as a way of communication, and it seems to have gotten some of its strength back because it turned back towards the trees and started to slither away. I sit still, watching it leave as I bite my lip.

“Um, bye then” I call after it, and that’s when I feel the start of panic edging over my senses and that’s when I start to cry.

 

After the snake had left, I had curled up in the grass and cried for the next few hours, my mind slowly coming to terms that my parents weren’t coming back now that I wasn’t being distracted by the task of looking after and talking to the snake.

Now it was night, maybe a day later or two, and I was lying on my back, staring blindly up at the stars that were visible in the inky blackness of the sky, my body limp and relaxed into the grass so I don’t even notice that the snake had come back until something thin flicks against the skin of my wrist. I let my head tilt to the side, my mind fuzzy from the excessive crying but I feel myself frown in confusion when I see that it was the snake. It must have caught some food or something as there was a slight bulge halfway down its body, its scales were glossier and its eyes were now gleaming green. I know it wasn’t possible but it looked like the snake was watching me with concern.

“Hey” I murmur, a small smile forming on my lips. “You came back”

The snake nodded it’s head slowly and that’s when it slithered closer and slowly onto me. I could feel the undulating muscles in its bodied press against the skin of my stomach as it glided on top of me. I make a small hum of discomfort and confusion but it hisses in what I can only imagine is meant to sound comforting and curls in on itself, making itself into a coiled up pile on my stomach.

“You know, you make a very bad blanket” I chuckle quietly as I raise my hand and carefully reach out to the snake’s head. When it doesn’t bite me, I reach out my pointer finger and gingerly stroke it’s head. “You’re cute though”

I let my head loll back so my gaze is focused up at the stars and I zone out so much that I don’t pay attention to the green light that beamed out from between the gaps in my fingers which was emanating from the mass resting on my stomach, but I do notice when the scales under my fingers turn to soft fur and long ears twitch against my palm. I look down my body to see that the snake that had curled up on my stomach was now a large white rabbit, it’s eyes a bright green.

“What?” I stare down at it, and watch it’s nose twitch; it’s head tilting as it watches me. “Snake?”

The used-to-be snake nodded it’s furry white head and turns its head so its nose could brush against my palm.

“I don’t – oh” I let out a strained laugh as my head falls back to rest against the grass. “Oh, I get it now. You aren’t real, are you?”

I look back down at the rabbit and it nods its head after a pause, blinking at me.

“Wow, I’m so messed up that I’m imagining you. Well, anything to distract me, right?” I let out a soft groan and let my eyes slip closed. “Let’s just – enjoy this, alright Rabbit?”

The Rabbit’s ears twitch against my ears and I fall back into an uneasy sleep.

 

…………………………….

 

That Rabbit-used-to-be-Snake kept my company for a long time. I couldn’t tell how long I was out there, in the forest. It was a bit hard to distinguish between the days when the only thing that could tell me was the sight of the sun going down and the sun coming up, especially when I would sleep for unknown amounts of time. Now I knew that the Rabbit-used-to-be-Snake was just part of my imagination, I didn’t feel weird when I talked to it. It would look like it could understand me and I sometimes I wished it would talk, but it never would. 

But the stronger it got, the more livelier it got, the brighter its eyes became, the green getting more vibrant. So, maybe a week or so later, it changed again. I didn’t see it, but one morning after I had woken up after cuddling with the Rabbit, it bounced over to a bush at the end of the tree line and disappeared into it, where two seconds later a glow of green light radiated from the inside and through the leaves. I kept watching, and it was a surprise but not unexpected when Rabbit came back out as not a rabbit, but a dog. It had pitch black fur and luminescent green eyes, its ears perked up as it trotted slowly back towards me.  
“Rabbit?”

The dog paused before nodding slowly, its tongue lolling out of its mouth in a grin.

“Well, I guess I can’t call you Rabbit anymore”

 

Now that Rabbit-now-Dog had four paws and was bigger than a rabbit, it could do a lot more in an effort to keep me moving and healthy. Now he was taller than my knees, he could shepherd me around, keeping me out of the trees and surrounding forests while going in and out without me, bringing back sticks covered in berries and what I presumed to be edible bits of plants for me. On the nights when it got cold, Dog would curl up into me, its nose nuzzled against my neck and one paw resting on my stomach. Dog kept me warm, and active, and when my sadness overtook me, my mind numb as thoughts of my parents overwhelmed me, Dog would lick my face and bounce around me, his muzzle nudging against me in an effort to move. In return, I took care of it, sharing my food and giving it water, giving it shelter when it rained. I grew very fond of it, even if was all in my head.

 

Two weeks later when I finally ran out of tinned food and the other food rations that my parents and I had brought for our trip, Dog nudged me to the ground and barked at me, telling me in its own way to stay put then disappeared into the trees. It didn’t come back till two days later, but just like it changed from Snake to Rabbit, and Rabbit to Dog, it changed again. From Dog to Wolf. 

I was in my tent when I came out and heard the rustling come from the trees. I instantly tensed, and froze when I saw the large hulking body of a canine push through the foliage, but when I saw the glowing green eyes I relaxed.

“Hey Dog – well, Wolf I guess” I smile fondly at the wolf but my eyebrows draw closer together in confusion when I recognized the large backpack that Wolf was dragging behind it. I walk closer to it and fall into a crouch next to it as it stopped where it was, its green eyes watching me as I gently take the strap from the backpack from its mouth and I hesitantly reach out to pet its muzzle.

“You didn’t – kill anyone for this, did you?”

It instantly shakes its head and I fully relax, falling backwards till I’m sitting down on the ground and I let my hand drift down so my fingers could tangle in the thick fur at the base of its throat.

“Looking good, Buddy” I murmur as I run my hand over its flank and gaze at the pitch black fur that covered its entire body. “All nice and healthy. Did you find some food for yourself?”

I look at its mouth and notice the blood at the corners of its mouth. It notices me looking and looks almost sheepish as its tongue flicks out to lap at the dried blood.

“Hey, it’s okay. You needed to eat, even though – you’re not real” I frown but I shake my head and my thoughts away. I withdraw my hand from Wolf and start to look through the pack, grinning at the dried food that was in it.

“Thanks Wolf. This is good, really good”

Wolf panted happily and nudged the side of my head with its nose, snuffling gently as it licks my ear.

“Hey! Outta my ear, thank you very much” I giggle as I push Wolf’s head away, making Wolf huff at me and press closer to me, its nose nuzzling my neck as its fur brushed against my skin. I find myself gripping the fur firmly between my fingers as I start to sob, pressing my face against the side of its chest and I grip it closer into a hug.

“Thank you, Wolf. Everyone is gone and you are all I have left. I know you aren’t real but please stay. Don’t leave me like my parents did”

I fall asleep in the grass like I did that first night except Wolf was beside me, keeping me warm through the night.

 

Wolf was out in the forest when I saw the figure emerge from the trees. The figure was tall, a male, with dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes, his body clad in a dark blue skin tight stealth suit with a burnt star emblazoned on his chest and two gun holsters strapped to his muscular thighs. I was in my tent, peering through the material opening as the man looked around. With the extended period of time without human interaction, I was nervous about seeing another person.

The man was quiet as he slowly but confidently walked towards the set up tents – one was mine and the other was for my parents -. Through the tent entrance flaps, I saw that the man was examining the ground in front of my tent, then his blue eyes flicked up and locked with mine. 

I shrunk away from the tent opening with my eyes widening in fear, and I scramble towards the back of the tent when I heard the crunching of footsteps on grass and small twigs coming towards me. 

The sunlight must have been shining from behind the man because I could see his shadow projected on to the wall of the tent, and I watched his figure get closer and closer to the tent entrance.

“Hello?” the man’s voice was low and quiet, his tone full of curiosity. “I have no intention of hurting you, I promise”

I stay quiet, biting my lip as I grab a heavy metal torch and hold it in my hands like a baseball bat.

“Okay, I saw you in here, so I’m going to pull open the tent opening, alright?”

I could see fingers curling around the edge of the entrance flap material, and my breath freezes in my throat as the man pulls open the flap. He was crouching in front of the tent, his body visible as he locks eyes with me and gives me a gentle smile.

“Hey, there, can you tell me your name?”

I gulp as I slowly recognize the kind face as the one of Captain America. I hadn’t easily recognized him because of the beard. I slowly lower the flashlight onto the ground next to me.

“Um, Y/n”

“Well, Y/n, it sure is nice to meet you. Would you mind coming out so I can see you?”

I hesitate before nodding, carefully shifting onto my feet and moving towards the entrance. The Captain seems to recognize my nervousness because he smiled and moved away from the tent.

I gingerly exit the tent and see that he had moved away roughly 10 feet, his body language open as he smiles kindly.

“Hi, Y/n. My name is Steve Rogers. How long have you been out here?”

“I – I’m not really sure” I pause, trying to do the mental math in my head. “Um, maybe a month? A little less?”

“That’s a long time to be alone, Y/n” there was sadness hidden in his eyes as he watched me.

“I wasn’t alone” I retort, and he raises an eyebrow, waiting for me to elaborate. But I was frozen, my head looking to the side and into the trees, my ears picking up the sound of thundering hoof beats. Steve seems to hear it as well, his gaze focusing on where I was looking.

That’s when a giant stag burst out of the trees and thundered over to me, digging its hooves into the ground to stop its acceleration in front of me, its head lowered so its antlers were pointing straight at Steve.

“Woah, okay” Steve was looking surprised as he held his hands up in supplication. “I was not expecting that”

The stag tilts its head slightly so its eyes were focused on me and I recognize the glowing green colour.

“Wolf?” I exclaim, instinctively drawing closer to the stag who nods carefully, its eyes flicking back to Steve who was watching me curiously.

“You – uh, know the stag?”

“Uh, yeah –“ I reach out and scratch the area behind the Stag’s ears which makes it move closer to me, still standing in-between Steve and myself like it was shielding me. “Wait, you can see it?”

“Um, yes? I mean, it’s a giant stag with horns pointing at me, kind of hard to miss”

I was staring wide eyed at Steve before my gaze flicks to Stag who was watching me with panic in its eyes, and I was just about to speak before a strike of lightening flickers in the otherwise clear sky and a figure falls from the sky and lands in a crouch on the ground. The figure was a man with short blonde-brown hair and an eyepatch covering one eye. He had a giant axe in one hand and was covered in armour. I let out a squeak and step back towards Stag who towered over me, its head held high as it trotted forward slightly and turned its body so I was behind it, hidden by its bulk.

“Steven, you have found a girl” the man sounded surprised, but Steve held out a hand as a sign for the man to stay back.

“Yes, I have, Thor, but I think you just scared her with your dramatic entrance” Steve said wryly, glancing back at me and Stag. Thor follows his gaze to look at me, a small smile appearing on his face as he lowers his axe but he hesitates when he looks at Stag, his eyes widening as he locks eyes with it. I can feel Stag’s body tensing so I run my hands over its body, trying to soothe it – all while ignoring the voice screaming in my head that the imaginary animal that my mind conjured to deal with my grief was visible to Steve and Thor - .

“I know those eyes” Thor murmurs and he takes quick steps forward which prompts Stag to take a few steps backwards, pushing me back in turn. “Brother?”

“Brother?” I mutter to myself under my breath and I find myself taking a step back when Stag looks back at me and gives me a sad look before trotting forward a few steps towards Thor and Steve. Steve was watching with curiosity while Thor was watching with hope.

Stag stopped halfway between myself and the two other men, head held high as its entire body begins to glow a bright green. The light gets so bright that all three of us have to look away, and when we look back, a man was standing in its place. The man had jet black hair that was slicked back, contrasting with his pale skin. He was wearing green robes that were ripped and tattered, his skin littered with faded bruises and just healed over cuts. Thor and Steve were looking at him with amazement, but the man that used to be Stag turned around to look at me, those familiar green eyes looking back at me.

“Stag?” I murmur in confusion, my feet taking me backwards subconsciously as I watch him turn around to fully face me, guilt flicking over his face as he takes a step towards me.

“Y/n – “

“You lead me to believe that you were part of my imagination” I interrupt, and I see the pain erupt in his eyes before I turn on my heel and run.

 

I run for what feels like forever before I trip over an exposed tree root, my body colliding with the tree that the root belonged to. I hit the back of my head against the hard bark and I fall to the ground, leaning against the tree as I let out a low groan.

“Fuck” I draw out the expletive as I blink rapidly, my head tilting from side to side as I try to shake away the daze that was threatening to overcome me. I raise a hand and gingerly touch the back of my head, pulling it away to see bright red blood covering my fingertips. “Fuck”

I flinch when I hear soft footsteps coming towards me and I look up to see the man who used to Stag, who was Wolf before that and Dog before that, Rabbit before that and Snake before that walking towards me, his expression soft as he raised his hand in a placating gesture.

“It’s okay, little one” he says soothingly, falling into a crouch in front of me, his gaze flicking down to my blood covered fingers. “Oh, what happened to make you bleed?”

He reached out almost instinctively towards my head but I flinch away from him which makes him withdraw his hand slowly, his eyes full of guilt.

“Stag – I thought you were imaginary” I say carefully as I watch him, the green eyes drawing me in. “A couple of times I thought I was going mad because I was talking to a figment of my imagination that would constantly change shape”

“I am sorry, Y/n” this man had a slight British accent. “I was going to tell you when I was a snake, to shake my head when you asked if I wasn’t real, but I saw how fragile your mind was, I didn’t know how you would react if you knew about magic”

“I still don’t understand”

“Darling, my name is Loki and I am a God, the God of mischief. A while ago, before I met you, I got into a battle and got very badly injured. I used nearly the rest of my magic to make it here, to this forest. And my injuries were so grievous that I shapeshifted into a snake to conserve energy.” Loki – used – to – be – Stag explained, his green eyes soft as he watches me. “I was wandering for a couple of days, starving and dehydrated before I found you. You gave me water which gave me enough strength to catch some food. The longer I stayed with you, the stronger I got which meant I could shapeshift into bigger and stronger animals. And - the more my affections for you grew”

He paused, his hand moving back towards me and when I don’t flinch away, he gives me a small smile and gently reaches around the back of my head, carefully probing my head wound with his fingertips. I let out a small groan and my eyes slip closed, reveling in the gentle human contact even though it was tinged with pain.

“Darling, my magic is strong enough now to heal you. May I?”

I give him a slight nod and he carefully guides me so I’m leaning forward, my forehead resting on my raised knees and I let out a small whimper as I feel something tugging at the edges of my wound, pushing the flesh back together before something cold and liquid pours against my skin like water, sitting for a few seconds before fading away.

“There you go” Loki murmurs as he guides me sit up straight. “My - friends were worried about you, do you want to go back?”

“I don’t know them” I mutter before glancing up at him. “I don’t know you”

“Darling, please, I’m still your friend. I’m still Stag, and Wolf, and Dog, and Rabbit and Snake. I am still all of them, just in a new form once again. Please, I cannot just leave you here”

He carefully extended his hand out to me, looking at me with hope in his eyes. I stare at his hand for a moment before reaching out and slipping my hand into his. He lets out a relieved sigh and his hand tightens around mine and he carefully helps me up to my feet, drawing me close to my side all the while keeping a firm grip on my hand.

He then leads me through the trees with ease which is when I realized that when I had ran away from him, I most likely would never have been able to find my way back.

“What do I call you?” I ask quietly, and he hesitates slightly before he looks at me with a small smile on his face.

“You may still call me Stag, if you wish, or Loki, my original name. Whichever you prefer”

I nod in understanding. With him guiding me along, we reach the clearing that I had been living in for the last month or so within 10 minutes, where the two other men were still waiting, both having moved closer to each other as they chatted in low, quiet voices. They both look up when they see us walk out of the trees, Loki holding my hand, leading me forward like a scared child, which I only reinforced by hiding behind Loki slightly. Since I was around the same size of him, or just a bit shorter, I could peer over his shoulder, watching Steve and Thor with fear and curiousity. They both smiled back, but Steve was smiling at me while Thor was smiling at Loki. When we were roughly 15 feet away, Thor strode forward and wrapped his beefy arms around Loki’s shoulders, pulling him close to his body and squeezing him tightly. In surprise, I jerked backwards and my hand slipped out of Loki’s, my legs moving me backwards and away from them both.

“Brother! I thought you were dead!” Thor looked like he was on the verge of crying, his face buried against Loki’s shoulder, and Loki was sighing as he gingerly patted Thor on the back, even though I could see that his fingers dug into the material under Thor’s armor. “How – we were in space, you died, I saw you! I don’t understand!”

“Brother, you should know by now that I always have something up my sleeve” Loki sneered, but I could hear the fondness in his tone. He left it at that, and Thor pulled back, his eyes glittering with tears.

“Come now, Brother, we have many tales to regale each other with” Thor wraps a bulky arm around Loki’s shoulders and starts to pull him forward, away from me, and I can’t help but let out a small whimper as tears gather in my eyes, but who am I to break up a sibling bond just because of my own feelings of fear and abandonment?

Loki must have heard me because he comes to stop, letting Thor take a couple of steps forward before he realized that Loki isn’t walking with him. “Brother?”

“Just one second” Loki assures Thor and then he turns around and looks at me and extends his hand. “Come here, my dear”

I look into his familiar green eyes and I find myself moving closer to him, moving into his arms and wrapping my own around his waist, clutching him tightly. I find myself coming down at he places a quick kiss on the top of my head.

“Darling, I’m not leaving you here” I look up at him with wide eyes because it was like he had read my mind, and he smiles fondly at me, hands resting on my shoulders. “Y/n, you are coming with us. Isn’t that right, Captain?”

“Of course” Steve had been watching this whole scene with a curious eye, surprise hidden in his expression as he saw Loki who had tried to become a God and brought aliens into New York, now looking fondly at Y/n, this 18 year old girl who had obvious abandonment issues and anxiety, hugging her to provide comfort. “Things have changed since you were last around, Loki, but we can get her a place where she’s safe”

“No” Loki says bluntly as he looks at Steve. “She will come with me, and stay with me. I’m not leaving her”

I let out a relieved sigh as I grip Loki’s hand tighter and he returns the grip strength, walking forward and pulling me with him as he moves towards Steve, who had raised an eyebrow but nodded in acquiesce.

“Alright then. The jet isn’t too far from here, just in a clearing roughly 30 metres from here”

“Okay. Y/n” Loki turns to me and brushes his fingers over my cheekbone. “I want you to go to the Captain. He will take you to the jet and wait for us. I just need to talk to my brother”

I hesitate for a moment but he nods reassuringly so I reluctantly nod back and look at Steve, who smiles kindly at me.

“Go on, Y/n, I’ll be right behind you.”

 

Loki watches as Y/n glances over her shoulder at him one more time before walking cautiously over to Steve who places a hand on her lower back and guides her forward and into the trees. Loki stares after her but frowns when he senses Thor staring at him.

“What are you looking at, Brother” he sneered, but Thor just chuckled humorlessly.

“You have changed, Brother. What happened to you? And how does Y/n fit into all this?”

“Thor, I remember dying. I also remember suddenly jerking awake and found myself floating in space. I had just enough magic to get myself to Earth, somehow. I woke up in this forest and immediately shapeshifted into a snake to conserve my energy, but once I became a snake, I couldn’t shift back. I was wandering for days, starving and dehydrated until I found this clearing and saw Y/n just – sitting there, on the grass. But she wasn’t scared of me, she offered me water and that gave me enough strength to hunt a small rabbit for food. Thor, she took care of me, and in return I became her companion. I sorely regret letting her believe that I was part of her imagination but she was fragile, Brother, she was all alone. Her parents were dead because of Thanos so I did what I could to help her grief.” Loki paused and locked gaze with Thor.

“Thor, I don’t know what I’m feeling, I have definitely never felt it before, but I am going to protect her. I owe her my life because if I hadn’t found her then I would be dead for real”

Thor smiled kindly at Loki and gestured for Loki to walk after Y/n and Steve. “Brother, I believe you are feeling affection for the young maiden. Love, even. Come on, let us go follow your lady love and get her to safety.”

Loki didn’t disagree.


End file.
